


Song Fics

by kwillpleasedont



Category: Boys Republic (Band), IU (Musician), 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dystopia, Break Up, Cheating, F/F, F/M, Gangs, M/M, Min Yoongi's piano, Yoongi's parents are only mentioned really they don't like show up
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-08
Updated: 2017-11-12
Packaged: 2019-01-10 11:20:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,903
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12298203
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kwillpleasedont/pseuds/kwillpleasedont
Summary: One shots based on songs, not including any one shots inspired by songs that were written before September 3rd, 2017





	1. Get Down

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Why are you pushing yourself to be a villain?

Suwoong stares down at the picture of the five of them in misery. He knows he should get rid of it, but he just can't bring himself to throw it away. He doesn't want to throw four years of friendship away like it means nothing. He knows he should though, Sunwoo told his ages ago to forget about them, but he just can't.

He doesn't understand how Sunwoo just threw them away like they were nothing, like Wonjun hadn't thrown himself in the flames to save Sunwoo on more than one occasion. Like Minsu hadn't pulled Sunwoo's unconscious body out of harms way. Like Sungjun hadn't talked the both of them out of a life threatening situation. Like they haven't sacrificed their lives to save his or Sunwoo's. But still, Sunwoo tells him to forget about them.

_They left us, Suwoong, they packed up and left us. Are those the kind of friends you want? The kind that leave without warning to do something stupid and dangerous?_

Suwoong wants to hate them. He wants to be able to wrap those three up and push them into the back of his mind where he won't have to think about them, but he knows he'll never be able to make himself do it. Even if he and Sunwoo are supposed to be out hunting them right now, he can't hate them.

He folds the picture back up and tucks it into the breast pocket of his jacket. He doesn't really want to do this, trick them into getting what Sunwoo wants. What he, by extension, wants. But he knows he has to, to appease Sunwoo and to get his superiors off his back, he has to. He lets Sunwoo rough him up, mess up his hair, give him a black eye for show. When Sunwoo's done, he laces up his boots and leaves the safety and comfort of their house. 

He stumbles around in the bad part of town for what feels like hours before he catches a fleeting glimpse of what has to be Wonjun turning down an alley. He picks up his pace, catching up to Wonjun and grabbing onto his coattail as he falls to his knees. As if someone flipped a switch, he can feel as the comfort leave Wonjun's body, hostility quickly replacing it. His broad shoulders tense up as he turns around with such ferocity it rips his jacket out of Suwoong's hand. When Suwoong lifts his eyes to meet Wonjun he sees the knife raised in his hand and can't help but flinch back a bit.

"Hyung..." Suwoong breathes out, his cracked lip reopening, bleeding just a bit. Suwoong has never seen Wonjun so shocked. Wonjun's eyes are wider than he's ever seen. Wonjun quickly pockets his knife and bends down so he's level with Suwoong.

"Oh my god, Suwoong. What happened to you? Who did this?" He asks, gently resting his hands on either side of Suwoong's face to inspect the damage.

"I-It was no one hyung, nothing. I just needed to see you." He lets a pitiful whimper escape and tries not to feel guilty as Wonjun helps him to his feet.

"Where's Sunwoo? He isn't with you?"

"We-we parted was not long after you and the other hyungs left. I haven't seen him in a while." Suwoong lies as he rests his weight on Wonjun's side, just to be closer to him. He hasn't seen Wonjun in years and he forgot just how much he missed Wonjun.

"Alright, okay, uh, why don't we go back to my place? You can see Minsu and Sungjun again while we get you fixed up?" Wonjun smiles, rubbing Suwoong's side as Suwoong nods.

The place Wonjun takes him too is far nicer than Suwoong originally thought it would be. Sure it looks like a nasty run down warehouse on the outside, but on the inside it's actually quite nice, for a gang house. There are posters and banners hanging up, drums and cars. It's all a little confusing and mildly out of character for a gang in this day and age, but he doesn't question it too much.

They pass by large groups of people just sitting in their own little circles. Some people are off on their own, watching from behind pillars and on top of scaffolding looking down on them. Even though it's dark and he tries to keep his head down, he can see the frowns and scowls from the loners and groups alike.

_Note to self, they don't like newcomers._

"Don't worry about them, they look a lot scarier than they really are. Once they find out you're my friend they won't care so much." Wonjun chuckles, walking him right past a group that's larger than the rest. One man, shrouded in expensive looking robes with a pretty woman on his lap, calls out to Wonjun. He ignores it in favor of dragging Suwoong along to find Minsu and Sungjun.

When they do, Minsu is sitting on the roof of an old gray car, his feet dangling over the edge, as Sungjun lounges back on the hood with his eyes closed. Minsu has his head tipped back, the heels of his boots tapping a light rhythm on the window of the car, seemingly bored out of his mind.

"Hey, get up, I'm back." Wonjun says, smacking his hand down on the hood of the car next to Sungjun's head. Sungjun and Minsu both groan, although for different reasons. Sungjun rolls over, his back facing Wonjun, while Minsu responds.

"Finally, god it was getting boring. What took you so l-" Minsu starts, opening his eyes and hopping down from the car. He stops short when he see Suwoong leaning into Wonjun's side. Minsu's breath catches in his throat and he immediately pulls Suwoong in for a hug. Wonjun returns to the car with a laugh, he bangs on it again to wake Sungjun up.

"Come on, get up, I brought an unexpected surprise." Wonjun says. This seems to pique his interest as he rolled over and opened his eyes. He lets out a shocked gasp when he sees Suwoong and springs up to latch himself to Suwoong's back.

"Where did you find him, oh my god." Minsu breathes out, still tightly attached to Suwoong.

"I didn't, he found me. He seems to be in some kind of trouble." Wonjun says, leaning back onto the car. Minsu pulls away just a little bit to look down at him.

"Holy shit, what happened to you?" Minsu asks, Sungjun letting go of Suwoong to step around and get a good look at him as well. Suwoong lowers his eyes, avoiding their gaze.

"Doesn't matter. Who did it to you?" Sungjun questions, arms folded over his chest in a threatening way. "I won't stand for this."

"No offense hyung...but you've been gone for a while. Sunwoo taught me how to take care of myself. I just got a little in over my head." Suwoong says, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Speaking of, where is that bastard? Did he just fucking leave you by yourself- wait, oh my god, was he the one that did this to you?" Minsu asks with a shocked expression, standing up straighter to appear more intimidating. "I'll kill him, where is he?"

"Like I said hyung, no disrespect, but you don't have to worry like this anymore. You don't have to protect me. You left and I had to toughen up. I had to learn how to take a punch." He can't help but let some of his bitterness slip through. He loves his hyungs and he always will, he's just a little sore that they left him behind.

All three of them seem taken back by Suwoong's words and he shyly lowers his head in shame.

"Fine, we won't fuss about it anymore, but we have to ask. How'd you find Wonjun, what were you doing in this part of town?" Minsu let's his posture slouch as he asks, Sungjun lowering his arms.

"I knew that Wonjun likes the bar down the street so I hung out around the side to see if he'd go in, when he did I waited for him to come out and followed him." Suwoong lies, fiddling with his hands. Wonjun gets up from the car he was leaning on.

"Alright, that's enough for now. We can grill him later once he's rested." He sighs. Minsu and Sungjun nod, backing off." Take him to our room, he can have my bed, I'm gonna go speak to Mr. Jang." Wonjun says and makes his way back to the group with the man who called out to Wonjun when they passed by.

\---

Wonjun returns to their room way later than he expected, his meeting with Suwon dragging out longer than he would've liked. He sees Suwoong asleep on his bed and deposits himself on the couch while Minsu hops down from his top bunk to greet Wonjun.

"How'd it go? Everything okay?" He asks, sitting next to hi, mindful to be quiet as to not wake Suwoong up. Wonjun grunts and crosses his arms.

"Kind of. Jang is suspicious. He doesn't trust Suwoong yet, I suppose it didn't help I just ignored him when we came in, but I didn't really want to talk to him and I knew Suwoong wanted to see you guys." Wonjun mumbles, words stringing together with how tired he is.

"I can't say I blame him, I'm a little suspicious too. I mean, Suwoong suddenly finds us after two years all beaten and bloody with Sunwoo nowhere to be seen? That's cause for at least a little suspicion." Minsu sighs, Sungjun coming to join them.

"I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt. We haven't seen him in a while and it looks like he needs help." Sungjun says.

"Okay, but that doesn't change the fact that Sunwoo is in the wind and I can't help but wonder what he's up to." Minsu counters.

"Suwoong told me he hasn't seen Sunwoo in years, but I'll go out tomorrow and find him." Wonjun starts, "But right now, I need to sleep." The other two nod, making their way back to their respective bunk beds.

\---

When Suwoong wakes, he's alone. He's wrapped in Wonjun's covers, tucked in up to his chin. He wrestles himself out of the warm comfort of the sheets and pulls his phone out of his pocket, locking himself in the adjoining bathroom as he calls Sunwoo.

Suwoong is about to just drop the call when Sunwoo picks up, answering with an agitated,  _"What?"_

"Hyung it's me."

_"I'm aware, just speak, will you?"_

"Right, well, uh, Wonjun spoke to their boss last night. I couldn't listen, he had Minsu and Sungjun take me back to their room."

 _"...So you've met them again? How are they?"_ Sunwoo's voice softens just the lightest when he asks.

"They're fine. They're wondering who beat the shit out of me though."

_"What did you say? Did you say it was me? Because I think someone's tailing me, who's with you right now?"_

"No, of course  I didn't say it was you hyung. I said we haven't seen each other in years. Have just a little faith, would you. I'm not with anyone, I woke up alone." He huffs.

 _"Great. So it's probably one of them, then. I have to go, I'll call you later. Call me if anything happens."_ Sunwoo hangs up before Suwoong can say goodbye, which irritates him just a little bit. Ever since Minsu, Wonjun, and Sungjun left he seems like he's always on edge, angry at someone or something.

Suwoong pulls the door open with force, an angry sigh escaping him. He nearly drops his phone in fright when he sees Minsu standing there in nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist. He does reel back, gripping his phone to his chest like Minsu would take it from him.

"What're you doing? Why aren't you dressed?" Suwoong asks in a confused ramble. Minsu doesn't laugh like he normally would.

"I'm going to take a shower, what were you doing?" Minsu shoots back.

"Just, talking to a friend." Suwoong chuckles, waving his phone in the air a bit. Minsu lets out a suspicious affirmative, but seems to drop it for now, brushing past Suwoong into the bathroom, dropping the towel.

"Close the door on your way out, okay?" Minsu smiles, turning the knobs in the shower to get the water running. Suwoong's eyes widen and rushes out of the bathroom, pulling the door shut behind him.

\---

Wonjun marches up to Suwon with determination in his eyes. A couple of the men Suwon trusts the most are sitting around as well, each with a beautiful woman in their laps. None of them seem to notice Wonjun walking up which just adds to what Wonjun is about to do.

When Suwon does see Wonjun, he's startled silent for a moment. Wonjun has a deep gash on his cheek, blood dripping all the way down to his collar bone. He has the makings of several bruises littering his skin and cuts in his clothes opening to reveal small, shallow cuts, still bleeding all the same. Wonjun makes direct eye contact with him and throws the decapitated head he had been holding at Suwon's feet. The woman on his lap screams when she sees it and runs off, her friends each leaving as well.

"What the hell is that?" Suwon questions, his nose wrinkling up in disgust.

"This is my friend, Sunwoo. He works for the Private Military, as I did two years ago." Wonjun says. Suwon obviously knows about his past, he wanted full transparency with Wonjun, Minsu, and Sungjun and they were happy to give it to him. They were finished with that part of their lives and they didn't plan on returning to it.

"Why is his head at my feet?" Suwon asks, looking up at Wonjun. Wonjun pulls a piece of paper from the pocket on the inside of his jacket, handing it over to Suwon.

"Plans to arrest us and kill you. A police raid. I knew there was something wrong when Suwoong showed up out of nowhere and he wasn't there. Suwoong is probably in on it too, but I won't kill him. And neither will you." Wonjun states, a harsh firmness in his voice.

"And why is that?" Suwon asks, his eyes narrowing.

"Because Sunwoo always had it out for us when we left, he manipulated Suwoong into doing all of this. He's innocent. I won't let you kill an innocent kid." Suwon nods, he can respect that, he'll have to interview Suwoong himself when all of this is over, but Wonjun was proving to be a loyal man and he could trust his judgement for right now.

\---

Suwoong is lounging on Wonjun's bed, staring at his phone when Wonjun returns. Minsu and Sungjun are laying on their respective beds, watching the television from their spots. They pay no mind to Wonjun when he comes in, but Suwoong's eyes flicker up to him. Wonjun turns the television off.

Wonjun makes his home on the couch and speaks.

"I think it's time we're all honest with each other." Minsu and Sungjun look up at him as well. "Suwoong, we know why you're really here."

Suwoong's eyes widen, he lets out a nervous laugh and begins to deny it.

"I heard you, this morning when I went to take a shower. I heard you on the phone with Sunwoo." Minsu says, drawing Suwoong's attention to him.

"We know about the plans, too." Suwoong's eyes fill with tears. "Nothing is going to happen to you, don't cry. What kind of hyung would I be if I let that happen." Wonjun says.

"I-I don't understand. If you know what's going on then why are you letting me live? Isn't an offense like this usually punishable by death?" Suwoong asks. "I betrayed you guys."

"No." Sungjun speaks, Suwoong's shining eyes turning to him. "We betrayed you, two years ago when we left and didn't tell you. We should've told you, but we knew Sunwoo would keep you there anyway so we didn't want to cause trouble."

"Someone already paid for your crimes." Wonjun says, standing up and moving to his bed to sit with Suwoong. His eyes go wide when he sees Wonjun, a weird sense of deja vu overtaking him.

"What happened?" He finds himself asking, his voice thick with the unshed tears.

"Did you actually want to arrest everyone? You can be honest." Wonjun says.

"No! No, of course not. I never wanted to do that." He shakes his head. "Sunwoo found out where you guys were a little over a year ago from his contacts, I told him we should just drop it and leave you guys alone. That if you guys didn't wanna be with us anymore that it was your choice, but he pushed it."

"So then this wasn't your plan and therefor not your responsibility to take the blame for." Sungjun says.

"Hyung took care of everything, alright? So don't worry and relax." Wonjun says, wrapping his arm around Suwoong's shoulders.

And really Suwoong should be disgusted. He wasn't stupid, he knew what  _'hyung took care of it'_  means. He knows that Wonjun killed Sunwoo and he should be cowering in fear, backing away from Wonjun, but he can't. There's no fighting the fact that he's missed them, all three of them, and he knows his longing doesn't make up for the fact Wonjun killed someone, his own friend no less, but he doesn't want to be apart from them again. He wants to stay here with him and be together again.

Don't get him wrong, he'll miss Sunwoo, he really will, but after the iron tight grip Sunwoo had around Suwoong's throat it's nice to finally breathe again. Without the impending deadline of finding Wonjun, Minsu, and Sungjun weighing him down, he can float freely with them. He can be with his hyungs again.

After so long, the refreshing breath that is his hyungs fills his lungs and he will hold it in for as long as he can.


	2. First Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yoongi left his piano for a boy once, he won't do it again.

The cold ivory keys are soft against Yoongi's fingers. The worn out bench underneath him is all too familiar. He thought he'd never see his beloved again.

He laughs in memory of the first time he touched this piano, his parents had forced him to take lessons. He hated it, God did he hate it. He hated the older man that would slap his knuckles with a ruler when he got the notes wrong. He quit out of defiance. Kept the money his mother slipped in his backpack for the lessons after school and saved it all up, skipping the lessons to hang out with friends from school. He never thought he'd return to the brown piano settled on one side in his childhood home.

He picked it up again in high school, his friend had a keyboard in his room and Yoongi had messed around with a couple broken melodies as a way to busy himself when his friend did homework. His friend showered him in compliments, saying his skill was unmatched by anyone he's ever heard. Yoongi knew he was exaggerating but it was the thought that counted.

Yoongi never let the love falter after that. He played the piano in the living room when his parents weren't home, stayed up late on school nights composing melodies and writing lyrics. Yoongi found the thing that had been missing from his life. He found what he would've seen earlier had it not been ruined. He found what no one else could give him unconditionally like music could. Yoongi found love.

He vowed he wouldn't let anyone come between him and his piano again, but that changed with Seokjin. Seokjin was a wonderfully bright boy; smart, handsome, with a laugh that was funnier than the joke. He took care of Yoongi, paid attention when he spoke, kept him out of harms way, he was Yoongi's introduction to love. Yoongi didn't understand then what he could achieve with music or that Seokjin was only holding him back.

Now, three years after his parents deaths, sitting in their living room, playing their piano - his piano - Yoongi smiles. Yoongi hadn't expected to smile. When his older brother refused to go clean the house out three years ago, Yoongi knew he'd be tasked with it eventually, but Yoongi continued to put it off. He didn't want to come back here. He didn't want to relive the feeling of the keys on his small fingers, taking him back to a time when the piano was taller than he was.

He lived with Hoseok now. He lived with Hoseok in Seoul, a whole three hours away from Daegu, a whole three hours away from his parents old cold home that sits and collects dust. Just like the old brown piano.

Yoongi wants to say that he loves Hoseok more than anything in this world, that Hoseok hung the moon and the stars in Yoongi's sky, but it wouldn't be true. It's true that Yoongi has never loved another man the way he loves Hoseok, but Yoongi has music. Yoongi doesn't need to remember the pointless high school fling he had with Seokjin, Seokjin who convinced him to cut down on the time he spent composing to lay with him instead, Seokjin who convinced Yoongi he was more important. Yoongi knows Hoseok is a good guy, does everything Seokjin did for him and then some, but how long until he does the same? How long before he forces Yoongi to choose; the love of his life or his relationship?

Yoongi can't handle the heartbreak a second time. He wants to move back to Daegu. He wants to watch the sunset from his bedroom window like he did when he was fifteen. He wants to actually see the stars, not just assume they're there. He wants to play his piano and write lyrics in his old notebook like he's still fourteen, not twenty-four. He wants the freedom music gives him, he wants the feeling of the piano keys to be a constant, not a passing as he cleans out his parents' house.

Yoongi wants to break up with Hoseok. It feels so freeing to finally admit that, but he wants to break up. He wants to move out and back to Daegu. He wants his brown paino, he wants his first love.


	3. Palette

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I got this, I’m truly fine  
> I think I know a little bit about myself now

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so this is gonna be very confusing, let me break it down for you really quickly: jieun is not famous here. jieun has a twin sister, jiae, who is the famous IU, jieun is not IU. so like I hope that makes sense sorry if this is terribly confusing. i was working on this for ages and its way too long its like 5k words sorry for that. hope you like it tho. also the ending is terrible im so sorry

"I'm going to visit Jiae!" Jieun calls, pulling her hair out of the high ponytail it's in and sliding her sunglasses on. Her mother only makes a noise of acknowledgment as she steps out the door into the warm sunny air. She probably should've worn a hat but she's already half way down the sidewalk and the bus won't wait just for her.

Well, it might. If she took off her sunglasses, but she doesn't really fancy the crowds of people fawning over her. Not that Jiae does either, but it's Jiae's job to have people lose their minds over her, Jieun just wants to work at their mother's family shop in peace.

She waits at the bus stop, humming a song quietly to herself. The only other person there with her is an elderly woman she sees from time to time. The woman is too old to know who Jiae is, so it's fine to take her glasses off around her, but they are in public and she doesn't want to risk it. They get on the bus when it comes and she makes her way to the back, flashing the bus driver a friendly smile.

When she arrives down the street from Jiae's apartment, she decides on a whim to visit the small grocery store down the street, she doesn't know for sure but she has a suspicious inkling that Jiae probably has an empty fridge. She's quick, in and out in twenty minutes carrying two handfuls of brown paper grocery bags. She struggles with the heavy bags all the way to Jiae's door.

She doesn't complain about it, nor will she later either, but Jiae takes her time answering the door. Her short, dark hair is messy, frizzy and sticking up in all directions. Jieun doesn't let her smile falter for a second, even though she should be mad this is the third time that Jiae has forgotten Jieun was coming over. This month.

"Did you forget again?" Jieun smiles sweetly at her sister. Jiae rolls her eyes and nods, moving away from the door completely, leaving Jieun to carry all the groceries inside and kick the door shut with her foot.

Jiae makes her way back to the bedroom as Jieun walks to the kitchen to put the groceries away. Swinging the refridgerator door open, Jieun sees her suspicions were correct. The only things in Jiae's fridge are two rotten tomatoes and spoiled milk. 

Jieun hears two sets of laughter coming from Jiae's bedroom. Jieun shouldn't be surprised that Jiae has a man over, but she is. She always gives Jiae the benefit of the doubt. Although her mother tells her that sometimes she should be a little harder on Jiae, she never is. She's fine with letting Jiae keep all the fame for herself, she encourages it actually, she just wants their mother to live a comfortable life, which she's able to thanks to Jiae. And Jieun on occasion.

Jieun pretends not to hear the giggling and footsteps as they make their way down the hall, but she can't help it, she's only human. She looks. To her total surprise, she sees a very shirtless Kim Soohyun standing with his arm around Jiae's shoulders. His neck and chest are covered in marks that Jieun believes to be from Jiae. The giggling stops when Soohyun steps into the kitchen.

Jieun's eyes widen and she looks back to the bags of food and continues putting them away while Jiae and Soohyun stand in silence.

"Babe? Who's this and why does she look exactly like you?" Soohyun says after a minute.

"She's my sister and she was never here. Get some water and jet, okay? I have a schedule in a few hours and I need to sleep." Jiae says, brushing past Soohyun and Jieun to get herself a water bottle.

"Why didn't you tell me she was here?" He takes the shirt slung over his shoulder and turns around to pull it on in embarrassment.

"Because I forgot." Jiae shrugs. She grabs another water and throws it at Soohyun as soon as he turns around. He stumbles back in surprise, but catches it all the same.

"Also, I know you have a schedule because I have the same one. We have to film a music video at 2." Soohyun sighs. "That was why I came over last night. So we could...you know...and then make it to the shoot in time." 

"Music video? That's why you called me?" Jieun questions, turning around to look at Jiae. Jiae takes a big gulp of water, nodding when she sets the bottle down.

"Yeah. I don't feel like doing it."

"What do you mean you don't 'feel like doing it?'" Soohyun asks, hands raised in confusion. Jiae groans loudly.

"When I don't wanna do all the idol bullshit I call Jieun and she comes over here to stand in for me. No one knows about us being twins besides our mother, so it works out. And it will continue to because you won't tell anyone." Jiae responds.

"Hello? Music video? Anyone care to fill me in on what I'm missing?" Jieun says with the little bit of confidence she can muster. When both Jiae and Soohyun turn to look at her at the same time, the confidence dissipates, she curls into herself a little more with a nervous laugh.

"I have a new song coming out for the album I was telling you about. It's this sad breakup song thing, Soohyun is the love interest in the video and as much as I love hooking up with him, I don't really wanna sit there for two days and pretend to be in love with him and then pretend to break up. It's super easy and I'm supposed to have long hair for most of it so you can just throw on the wig to show up and when you go get changed, let it down." Jiae shrugs, crossing her arms  over her chest.

"Why didn't you tell me about this when you called. I would've come all the same, but a heads up would've been nice." She laughs again. Soohyun stands off to the side awkwardly, looking back and forth between the sisters.

"You really can't tell the difference, besides the hair obviously." Soohyun says, leaning against the counter with his arms crossed, brow furrowed in concentration.

"Yeah, that's kinda why this works. No one can tell the difference." Jiae says, finishing her water. She pats Jieun on the shoulder. "So, schedule's at two, have fun with Soohyun, I'm going back to sleep." She smiles. walking past the both of them back into her room.

Soohyun sits down on a stool next to Jiae's breakfast bar. Jieun tries to pretend he's not there, she puts the groceries away and avoids turning around like it's the plague. When she's finished putting everything away she sighs and stares down at the counter for a minute.

"I just realized I forgot to get something for her at the store, I'll just go get that now." Jieun laughs, grabbing her purse and slinging it across her shoulder.

"Do you always buy her groceries?" Soohyun says, stopping Jieun in her tracks.

"No, not usually. She called me last night to ask me to come over and I knew she was going to have an empty fridge so I just stopped by the store on my way here." Soohyun nods, deep in thought.

"I would let you continue, but it's 1:45, we have to be at the studio at two." Soohyun says, making Jieun's eyes go wide.

She runs into Jiae's bathroom, opening up cabinet under the sink to grab the short wig she keeps since Jiae got her hair cut. She ties her long hair up and slides the wig on, touching up her makeup to look more like Jiae's. She switches her light summer dress for jeans and a t-shirt, running back out to the kitchen once she's done.

"Ten minutes, not bad. My driver is waiting downstairs, we should get going." He smiles at her.

They walk to the end of the hallway in silence, carrying it into the elevator with them. Jieun tucks herself in the corner of the elevator and doesn't look at Soohyun until they're out of the building and in his car. Even then it's only a short glance.

"We're shooting this video for two days then you have a solo shoot for two days after that. I kinda figured Jiae forgot to mention all that. I have the general makeup for the shoot we're doing today if you wanna look at that?" Soohyun says, breaking the silence, pulling out a folded piece of paper from the back pocket of his jeans.

Jieun smiles and nods her head as she accepts it from him, prying it open to go over it. Most of the scenes are really sweet; a recollection of their first meeting where he was so nervous his hand was shaking, a soft kiss, them parting in front of her house door, turning back around with silly smiles to hug each other. It's a shame the song is so sad, it's almost a crime to waste such adorable love on something as sad as this.

"Do you wanna listen to the song? Jiae's people sent me a file of it the other day." Soohyun says, tugging his phone out of him pocket, already plugging in earbuds for them to share. Jieun smiles and nods, taking the offered earbud.

They listen to the song in silence, taking it in by itself. It's a terribly sad song, reminiscing on a past relationship as its in the middle of falling apart. Jieun is shocked Jiae would sing something so sad. When its over, Jieun hands Soohyun the earbud back in a daze.

"She wrote that?" Jieun breathes out.

"That's what she told me. Geez, who's that about?" Soohyun sighs, rubbing the back of his neck.

"No one I know. You're the first guy she's had over in a while, at least, to my knowledge." She shakes her head. Soohyun nods in understanding, fiddling with his phone until they finally pull up to the shooting destination.

Jieun messes with the wig, fixing it one last time in the car's mirror to make sure no one can tell. Soohyun is leaning against the car as he waits for her to finish. She smiles and taps his shoulder to get his attention as they begin walking inside. She gently tugs him down to her height to whisper into his ear.

"Your shirt is inside out." She giggles, skipping ahead to find the director. She looks back to see Soohyun quickly tug his shirt off in a panic and throw it back on. She smiles the whole time as she changes into the clothes the stylists have set out for her, the whole time they brush color onto her cheeks and lips.

When she leaves the dressing room, short wig carefully hidden in her bag, she quickly makes her way over to where Soohyun is standing. He's wearing a nicely pressed suit, his hair is brushed up and gelled out of his eyes, and the stylists are tying large pieces of yarn to his wrists and ankles.

Stylists quickly flock to her as well, pushing her in the opposite direction of Soohyun and tying identical pieces of yarn to her. They tilt her so her body is still facing the camera, but her head is turned to look at Soohyun standing across the room. He's standing in a similar fashion. One woman presses a fairly sizable object in her hand, she looks down and sees what is supposed to be a remote.

"Alright, so for this scene we're going to have you two looking back on your memories, okay? So smile at him, be happy, but not..." The voice of the director becomes background noise to Jieun as she focuses on Soohyun. He's smiling at her as well, chuckling and pointing back to the director. Jieun turns back to the man trying to get her attention.

When the shoot is over, they meet up again. Totally by chance. Jieun was not standing near the exit, waiting for him. She can see him leave his dressing room, dressed in the same clothes he was when they left Jiae's apartment earlier. His shirt is put on correctly this time.

He smiles when he sees her waiting, her hands nervously clutching the strap of the purse that rests across her chest. She's cute, like Jiae, but sweeter. He makes his way over to her and Jieun's grip on her purse becomes a little tighter.

"Ah, Soohyun-ssi, I was thinking we could stop somewhere after you were finished? Maybe coffee or bubble tea or something?" Jieun smiles, tucking some of the short hair behind her ear with a soft blush.

"That'd be nice, where do you wanna go? My treat." He nods with a confident smile. Jieun's cheeks darken slightly.

"Oh no! It was my idea, I'll pay!" She says, following after Soohyun as he begins to walk back to his car.

"Don't worry about it, my treat." He opens the door for her politely.

Later, after they've parted ways, Jieun makes her way back to Jiae's apartment. She knocks on the door anxiously. It would be so much easier if Jiae would just give her a key, she'll have to ask her about that later. Right now though, as she waits for Jiae to answer the door, she can't stop thinking of Soohyun.

She shouldn't have asked him to get a drink, she should've just caught the bus back to Jiae's after she was finished changing. Because now all she can think of is Kim Soohyun who she can't have because he's Jiae's boyfriend or friend with benefits or whatever- point is, he's Jiae's. She knows it's childish to stake claims on men, but she can't help but feel guilty.

Sure, Jiae had an unfair advantage, being an idol and all. She could date each and every one of Jieun's celebrity crushes and she wouldn't be able to stop her, but that wasn't the point. If Soohyun and Jiae were even a little bit serious, she didn't want to take him away from her. That just came down to being a good sister.

Jiae opens the door, tracksuit on with the hood pulled up and tied shut tightly. She leaves it open for Jieun to walk in.

"How'd the shoot go?"

"Good, I think. Sorry I'm a bit late, ran longer than we thought it would." Jieun chuckles, the lie rolling off her tongue so well it surprises her.

"Cool, cool. You plan on staying over? I'm not leaving the house today or tomorrow or probably for like the three days following that."

"Yeah I think I'll stay, it'll be easier to get to and from the shoots."

"You want Soohyun to drive you so you don't have to take the bus? Lemme call him." Jiae rushes out before Jieun can even think of refusing.

She stays on the phone with Soohyun for three hours after he agrees to drive Jieun. It seems to just be Jiae talking for three straight hours until Jieun listens closer. When Jieun wasn't paying attention Jiae must've ended the call with Soohyun because now she's definitely talking to someone else. She can hear the sickeningly sweet call of Jiae saying someone's name, she catches bits and pieces of a conversation she would prefer to be deaf to.

_"Inguk-ah, are you feeling any better? When can you come visit? I'm lonely~~"_

Jieun wishes she was surprised Jieun was seeing two men at once, but she isn't really. Jieun loves her sister, but Jiae has always done shitty things that hurt other people. She did this in high school as well, strung two really great guys along and broke both of their hearts in a matter of months and Jieun doesn't think she can stand to see it again.

Morning comes and goes uneventfully, Jieun makes breakfast for the both of them and serves it to Jiae who hasn't left her room since last night when she opened the door for Jieun after the shoot. She gets dressed hours before she has to and waits anxiously for Soohyun. She watches TV, listens to music, runs a few of Jiae's old choreographies to see if she can still remember them, touches herself up, and sits silently at the kitchen table.

Soohyun arrives an hour before he was supposed to. She received a text from Jiae telling her that Soohyun was outside and she left without questioning it, Soohyun was being generous enough to drive her to all the shoots for the next three days so she could leave with him whenever he wanted to go.

"I know we don't have to be at the shoot for another hour, but I figured you'd maybe want to go grab some coffee like yesterday? We could just sit and talk, I'm still a little curious after yesterday." He laughs when Jieun gets in the car. She nods with a wide smile to hide her nervousness. She said she wouldn't chase after a man Jiae was interested in, but she can't help the butterflies tickling her insides when Soohyun speaks to her.

They get coffee and sit in the back of the cafe with sunglasses on and the brim of their hats tipped down low. Soohyun had graciously let Jieun borrow both seeing as she hadn't prepared for this. Jieun swears that Soohyun is the most generous man she has ever met.

"So," Soohyun starts, a curious smile tugging at his lips making one appear on Jieun's as well. "How many of Jiae's music videos are actually you?"

Jieun is silent for a moment before she cracks up in laughter.

"That's your first question?"

"Of course it is! I've been a fan of Jiae for years, but now I'm kind of wondering if I should be saying I'm a fan of you."

"Well, any of the composing she's credited for was actually her; I can't compose to save my life. As for music videos that were actually me, let's see...most of  _Modern Times_  was me, like The Red Shoes and stuff. And to be honest, I don't think Jiae was actually in a music video of hers since. After  _Modern Times_  it's just been me." Jieun shrugs, sipping on her drink. She smiles around the rim of the cup when she sees Soohyun's astounded look.

"Wow..."

"Speechless? Really? It's not that big of a deal." Jieun laughs. Soohyun shakes his head.

"It kind of is, I mean like,  _Modern Times_  was when I started to like Jiae's music. That was all you? Live performances too or just the music video?"

"Most of the live performances, a couple were Jiae." Once again, Soohyun's mouth hangs open in shock and Jieun has to look away to keep from blushing. "I have a couple questions for you."

"Go ahead." He smiles, pushing his empty coffee cup out of his way to lay his crossed arms on the table, resting his head on them.

"Are you and Jiae dating? Or is it more of a casual thing?" She takes in a sharp, worried breath as soon as she finishes saying it. She doesn't look him in the eyes, taking a sip of her coffee, keeping her eyes focused on either the cup or the table. She can hear Soohyun sigh.

"Technically we're dating." He laughs. "I asked her out a few months ago, but for the most part she treats it like it's casual." Soohyun finishes with another unhappy sigh. Once again, Jieun wishes she could say she was surprised, but she isn't.

And now that she's officially made it awkward, she checks the time on her phone and finishes off her coffee.

"We should get going, it's almost time to start the shoot." 

\---

After spending four days with Soohyun, she can't say for sure she still wants to leave him to Jiae. Now that she knows Jiae's cheating on him, at least to some degree, she's less inclined to hide her attempts at flirting with him. He stayed the last two days when she had solo filming, watching quietly in the corner with a content smile, she couldn't help but sneak a look over at him in between takes.

Jieun wishes she had the nerve to ask Jiae who Inguk was face to face. Of course she's assuming Seo Inguk because who hears that name and doesn't immediately picture him, but she wants to know who he is to her. Her boyfriend? A friend with benefits? She tries not to concern herself with it, but she can't get it out of her head.

Soohyun doesn't appear to know about Inguk and as much as Jieun would love to tell him and have him leave her, she can't. He'll be so hurt, she can tell that he really likes Jiae. Jieun's heart cries for him, that poor unsuspecting man.

He wanted to keep in touch, gave Jieun his phone number, his manager's number as well. He said he enjoyed getting coffee with her and if she'd agree, he wants to do it again. Jieun wants to get coffee with him, she really does, maybe it'll evolve to dinner. Oh, how Jieun wants to get dinner with Soohyun.

But that would be wrong. It would be so wrong and it would be betraying Jiae.

Somehow that thought doesn't stop her when Soohyun invites her to a party that commemorates him wrapping up his latest movie. She borrows one of Jiae's party dresses and makeup and debates if she should wear the wig. Jiae shouldn't even know about this party, nor her attendance, and Jieun doesn't really want to play IU for the night, she wants to be herself and be with Soohyun. But she knows that isn't possible. No one is supposed to know about Jieun and if they want to keep this charade up she'll have to wear a fake smile and pretend to be Jiae.

With the wig firmly in place and the dress hugging her figure, she bounds out of the house she shares with her mother, having gone back home after the video shootings, and over to Soohyun's car. He was in the front seat this time, no driver, so she gently opens his car door and slips inside. He's smiling over at her, one hand resting on the steering wheel. She focuses on putting her seat-belt on so she won't have to make eye contact.

"I hope you don't mind, but I do have to pretend to be Jiae tonight." Jieun says regrettably. 

"I understand, although I wish there were a way I could take you to these things and you could just be yourself. I quite like Jieun." Soohyun laughs, moving one hand to place on the back of her seat as he backs out of her driveway.

"Maybe after she retires." Jieun laughs playfully.

\---

The party was already in full swing when Soohyun and Jieun got there. The music was loud but the laughter filling the room was even louder. It felt like Jieun could feel everything right down to her bones; the bass from the music, the hand Soohyun had on her lower back, all of it.

He gently leads her over to the director and they have a small conversation while Jieun observes the room. Then night was quite fun so far for as short a time as they had been there, but then she saw Inguk. She didn't even know he was going to be in a movie with Soohyun. And then, she sees Jiae. She sees Jiae's eyes closed as she laughs hard at something Inguk says, the smile she's hiding behind her hand, the arm Inguk has around her shoulders. Jieun doesn't think this could get any worse.

And then it does. Jiae looks around curiously to take in the building and the people in it when she makes eye contact with Jieun. Jieun who is pressed into Soohyun's side, closer than she thought she was, his hand wrapped loosely around her waist. Jiae's eyes widen and Jieun is frozen in place, she doesn't know what to do. No one else has seemed to realize that there are two IU's at this party. Jieun watches Jiae's face redden in anger and she goes stiff, alarming Soohyun beside her. 

"What's wrong?" He asks and looks over at her, his caring tone doing nothing to ease her nerves like it usually does.

"Jiae is here." Jieun says, pointing over to her. "And she's seen me. Shit, we have to go. I have to go." Jieun panics, breaking free from Soohyun's grasp and running out the front door. Jieun can hear Soohyun following after her.

She stops once she's outside. She doesn't know where she is or how to get home from here. Do the buses run this late?

"Jieun, it's okay, calm down." Soohyun says once he spots her, making his way closer to her.

"You sneaky little bitch!" Both Soohyun turn to see a furious Jiae and a very confused Seo Inguk.

"I didn't know you were gonna be here. I wouldn't have gone if I knew." Jieun shakes her head.

"You sneaky, deceitful bitch!" Jiae yells again, pushing past Soohyun to land a sharp smack to Jieun's cheek.

"I'm sorry, does anyone want to explain what's going on here?" Inguk asks as Soohyun steps in between the girls to stop Jiae from hitting Jieun more.

"Short version of this is Jiae has a twin sister named Jieun who sometimes pretends to be her when Jiae doesn't feel like doing something." Soohyun sighs, turning to focus on Jiae who looks ready to go through Soohyun if she has to.

"Did you invite her? Was this your doing? You said you weren't gonna go to this." Jiae spits at Soohyun.

"That was because you didn't want to go and I didn't want to show up alone. Jieun didn't think you were going to show up all the sudden so we decided to come." Soohyun says. "Why are you here anyway?"

Jiae falters for a second, somehow not expecting the question.

"She came with me, she's my date." Inguk says, still confused. Jiae turns to him with a murderous look on her face while Soohyun's is painted in shock. Jieun plops herself down on the ground and decides to let them work this out themselves, she's done enough.

"Your date?" Soohyun asks. Inguk nods, just as confused as he is. "Jiae, what the fuck?"

"Am I missing something?" Inguk asks with a confused chuckle.

"Don't fucking turn this on me, this is about you and that treacherous sister of mine. How long have you been fucking her? It hasn't been that long since you guys met, you work fast, huh?" Jiae says, ignoring Inguk and getting more in Soohyun's face.

"Are you crazy? We're not fucking, I just invited her to the party with me. What about you and him then?" Soohyun nods towards Inguk.

"We've been dating for a few weeks." Inguk offers up helpfully. Jiae turns to him with another irritated look.

"A few weeks? A few weeks!" Soohyun laughs in disbelief. "You're unbelievable, you know that?" Soohyun laughs again and shakes his head, turning around to Jieun, offering her a hand to help her up. "Come on, I'll drop you off at home."

\---

The car ride is a little awkward, even more that the ride there. Jieun's cheek stings and she looks out the window, plagued with guilt. If she hadn't been so blinded by her attraction to Soohyun, she would've realized what a bad idea this was. Now Jieun's ruined everything.

"Are you alright?" Soohyun breaks the silence, not taking his eyes off the road.

"I'm fine. How are you?" Soohyun laughs again.

"About as good as you'd think. I can't believe she was seeing him behind my back." He shakes his head. The round of guilt hits Jieun again. She can, she knew.

"I'm sorry she did that to you. She's kind of the worst." Jieun sighs.

"Before I take you home, would you like to get coffee? I know we're a little too dressed up, but I'm kind of craving it." Soohyun says instead of answering. Jieun understands, he's hurt, he probably doesn't wanna talk about it anymore. 

"That'd be nice." She says.

\---

They go to the same cafe they've been going to the past couple of days and once again sit in the same seat. They look weird and so out of place; Jieun in a fancy dress, Soohyun in a stunning suit  in a cafe well past midnight. But somehow, they fit. There are a few other oddball customers and no one looks over at them. No one comes over for a picture and a signature.

They talk about anything and everything that doesn't concern Jiae. Neither of them can seem to blame Inguk, he was probably just as clueless as Soohyun. They share secrets, laughs, and even their coffee. Soohyun can't help the face he makes when he tastes the bitterness of the black coffee ordered, somehow he had her pegged for someone who liked sweeter coffee.

When they get back in the car and finish the drive back to Jieun's mother's house, she pauses. She doesn't really want to get out, she realizes. She knows she has to, but she takes a second for herself. This feeling she has, she takes it and locks it away for the next time she needs a reason to smile. She opens the car door and turns back to Soohyun who's already smiling at her. She takes a deep breath.

"I like you." She says quickly, leaning over and pecking him on the cheek before sprinting out of the car and to her front door. She unlocks it quietly and looks back to the car to see Soohyun smiling with a barely noticeable blush covering his cheeks.

She steps inside and locks the door behind her, making her way to her room. She doesn't think about Jiae, she can deal with her later like she knows she'll have to. She thinks about Soohyun instead. Maybe that wasn't the best time to tell him, but she didn't want to hide it anymore. She wanted to get it all out, and she did.

As she's laying down to go to sleep, teeth brushed, pajamas on, hair pulled back, she gets a text from Soohyun.

_I like you too, goodnight Jieun :)_

And maybe the smiley face is a bit silly, a little juvenile, but she'd be lying if she said it didn't make her smile.


End file.
